On April 19^th at about 7pm I walked into the ballroom at the Santa Clara Marriott to a dinner honoring the California Youth of the Year, knowing very little about the organization. Three hours later, I walked out as a new supporter. It got me thinking: What did they do to create a tipping point to motivate me (and hundreds of others) to donate?

1. Make them care.

I believe that people are inherently good and do indeed care about many of the causes in their communities – youth, homelessness, education, recovery, etc. The challenge is to make them care so much that they’ll actually do something, and ideally offer up time, talent, or treasure in support of it. You have to get them to change something – to shift their priorities to your cause, charity, or project. And that means more than just sharing big general stats hoping you’ll impress them into the cause. Numbers alone don’t stick.

At the Boys and Girls Club dinner they did an incredible job striking a balance between collective stats of the organization and the powerful stories of the individuals behind them. While the fact that “nearly 4,000 Clubs serve some 4.1 million young people through membership and community outreach” is impressive, it doesn’t alone move people to act.

So they took it to the next level. And by “they,” I mean the high-school students who were recognized as Youth of the Year. For 4-5 minutes, they each took the stage and told their story. The most moving stories were those that left such concrete images in the audience’s mind that made it impossible for them not to do something.  These 17- and 18-year-olds gave detailed accounts of gang violence, watching friends die right in front of them, enduring physical abuse by their own family members, and even being locked in a trailer for 48-hours with a mother on a meth binge.

Here’s the best part: not one of these speeches was one of despair. Only messages of hope; how the human spirit – even one so young – can rise above anything. Anything…with some help. Their assistance came from The Boys and Girls Clubs throughout California that provided a safe haven, a mentor, a friend.

Make your numbers count. Tell the story behind them.

2. Get specific.

In 2011, my husband and I attended our first elementary school auction. About halfway through the live auction, the auctioneer announced the special project for the year that needed funding. He described the need for $30,000 to purchase new iPads and laptops for the new computer lab. He went on to describe the lessons that would be conducted and how every grade level would use them. Every single parent in the room could see how their own child would benefit from this project. It wasn’t just a pool of money going to pay for a bunch of random stuff. My kid would use an iPad to learn!

It takes two things: 1. A specific amount of money needed, and 2. A concrete image of what it will pay for. In about four minutes (which equaled the quick trip my husband took to the restroom), they raised it all. Not bad.

Interestingly, this past year was not as successful. There was no specific project, just dollars needed for programs. I would guess about 2/3 of the amount was raised. Coincidence?

3. Invest in a great MC/Auctioneer/Announcer.

Or, better yet, use your skills from #1 to make that person care so much that they’ll do it for free. NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott emceed the Boys and Girls Club event, and this guy was good. His skills for closing a deal could rival his career sacks and interceptions. If the kids executed the setup, he spiked it. Here’s how it went down…

The ask at a fundraiser always begins with, “There’s an envelope in the middle of your table.” And this time was no exception. But then, Ronnie continued,

“There’s also a pen.

Pick them up.

Go ahead.

I’ll wait.”

Wait he did. He asked for specific donations, even called out specific individuals, and made a public commitment himself. And he did it all with humor, heart, and humility. (Also worth noting: He did all this on the same night that many of his past 49er teammates were breaking ground on the team’s new Santa Clara stadium.)

We can use these three things for any cause – in our communities, but even at work or at home. Aside from bringing Ronnie home to motivate the kids to clean their room, there’s plenty we can do to create a tipping point for action: add emotion by providing concrete/visual images and get specific.

Any other tips? Would love to hear other tipping point successes!

We talk a lot about building SHARPs into messages: Stories, Humor, Analogies, References (Quotes), and Pictures/Visuals. One of the first reactions to this is something like, “Yeah, I love when people use them, but I’m not very good at it. I’m just not creative enough.” We put far too much pressure on ourselves to come up with some brilliant story, tagline, or imagery.

Here’s the good news: You don’t have to. SHARPs are all around. All you have to do is tune in, and notice what’s there. It’s kind of like right after you buy a silver Toyota Sienna (proud minivan owner here),and though you swear that you never really noticed them before, they seem to be right next to you at every stoplight.

In the midst of my travel this month, I tuned into some airline announcements that turned out to be great analogies in recent meetings.

The Exit Row. Everyone seated in an exit row is required to review the safety card and make an audible, verbal commitment that they will assist the crew in the event of an emergency. Go ahead and ask your team for an exit row response and make the commitment to your project or initiative. It’s verbal, it’s public, and it will get them moving! And if the answer is no, well, I’m sure you’d be happy to reseat them.

The Oxygen Mask. In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop from above. Each passenger must secure their own mask first before helping others.  A client used this recently to talk about financial planning for the future: unless you address your own finances first, you can’t possibly help others.

Feel free to use these (guilt-free), and more importantly, be on the lookout for more. Whether it’s on an airplane, in a meeting, at preschool or on the baseball field, tune in to SHARPs. Write down the ones that stick with you and use them to help make your message memorable. And please share them!

Remember: even when you’re using a slide deck in a presentation, you’re not a slave to it. Believe it or not, you can still break up the talk by utilizing other visuals. You can still walk to a different part of the room, away from the screen. And, you can still switch to a black slide and draw something simple and meaningful on a whiteboard. Your Powerpoint deck is one tool of many in your presentation toolbox.

In that spirit, here’s today’s video blog, featuring a surprising visual used by Bill Gates. Now, start thinking, can you incorporate a memorable experience in your next presentation?

Please share any ideas for visual SHARPs that you’ve been using (and like Gates, hold the malaria)!

You don’t have to be an Oscar winner to tell a great story. Chances are you do it all the time – at work, home, in your community. What are your favorite storytelling techniques? Share a storytelling success with us in the comments, and read on for tips from Andrew’s talk.

The creator and master storyteller of Finding Nemo, Toy Story, and Wall-E gives us a playbook that’s chock-full of what we should (and can!) do to tell great stories – at work and at home. Here are the top four rules to live by:

1. Begin with the end in mind. “Storytelling is joke telling. It’s knowing your punch line, your ending. Knowing that everything you’re saying from the first sentence to the last is leading to a singular goal.”

(Note: Stanton dropped an f-bomb in his opener, but I’m pretty sure that’s optional for the rest of us.)

So here’s the question: when’s the last time that you built your presentation, meeting agenda or sales pitch on a punch line? Did you begin with the end in mind? Did you pre-plan the one thing you wanted everyone in the room to leave with?

It’s absurd not to plan a punch line. Why should that happen in our work messages? Even the worst joke tellers have a punch line in mind. Their problem is in the execution. Plenty of those examples in politics, business, and there’s always that slightly off uncle who manages to do it every Thanksgiving.

Do not pass Go, do not collect $200 until you create the punch line, or as we call it, the Point Of View. It’s the big idea, the lead of your story, and most importantly, the phrase that signifies the biggest change in how you want your listener to think or act about your topic.

Your punch line should not be “Buy my product.” That’s a “you” focused message. Instead, frame it with them (your listener) in mind. How and why should your listener think or act differently about technology, an issue, their priorities. What problem are you trying to solve?

This is probably the single most difficult part of creating a message. Not only do we have to be ruthless in prioritizing the most important “So what?” thing, but we also have to frame it in a way that matters to them. But when you do create that crystal clear POV, it will lead the way, and all of the supporting content, claims and evidence that you need to gain buy-in will come easy.

2. Heed the Greatest Story Commandment: “Make me care.”

“Logic makes you think, emotion makes you act.” It’s not just about facts, figures, stats and studies. How can you get someone to care so much about your message that they’ll take that action? Hint: it ain’t in the logical argument.

That new composting program in the office might be really important to you, but how do you get someone to prioritize the gazillion things that are important to them and put your initiative above it. And even more difficult is to actually change their behavior.

The best story I’ve ever heard was from an IT Director who wanted his organization to adopt a new set of technical standards. We blogged about it a while back. His story about the Baltimore fire engenders the right emotions – in this case, fear and uncertainty coupled with urgency – can be incredibly powerful in driving change. It’s important for logic to be present as well, but emotion is the primary motivator.

3. Make the audience work for their meal. “Don’t give them four. Give them two plus two.”

Stanton noted that we’re wired for this. As humans we desperately try to bridge the gap between what we know and what we don’t. It’s so automatic for many of us that we try to complete each other’s sentences. Chip and Dan Heath wrote about creating a Curiosity Gap (check out this great video about sparking curiosity).

Instead of laying all your information out there, good storytelling is the well organized absence of information – that absence draws us in and makes us want to know more. Give your audience some credit – they’re natural problem solvers who like to deduce and figure things out. Lead them down a path, revealing kernels as you go.

Here’s a recent example. A VP of Sales Enablement gave a presentation at an industry conference. He was invited to talk about how he overhauled the organization. Rather than just laying out each of the steps of the transformation, he began by drawing out the problems of the inefficient organization that he started with, and then stated, “but this all changed in less than 18 months.” That audience wanted more.

Stanton cited a great quote from playwright William Archer, “Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty.” Add some drama to your message by playing on what the audience does not know, and create a curiosity gap that they can’t wait to fill.

4. Make it personal. “Use what you know. Draw from it. [Capture] a truth from your experience. [Express] values that you personally feel deep down to your core.”

Using your personal experiences will allow your passion and authenticity to shine. We as listeners trust, believe, and follow those who are authentic. Authenticity is established with consistent messages. That is, the content of your message must match how you come across in your delivery. For example, if you’re delivering good news, smile! If you were to watch a video of yourself, you should be able to mute it and know whether or not you were speaking about good news or bad news, just by watching your behavior.

It’s also about connection. Pay attention to how you engage with your listener. Do you make extended eye communication (versus darting eyes)? Is your tone conversational? Stanton’s delivery is fantastic example of this, and he was near spot-on. (Have to knock him a bit for reading too much from the teleprompter/confidence monitors – it was just enough to break some engagement with the audience.)

Again – you, too, are a storyteller! What are your favorite techniques? Share a storytelling success with us below.

Just because you say the “right” words, you can’t assume people will get what you mean and be moved. In order to influence and drive change, your audience needs to feel something. You have to change your perspective, get in their heads, and figure out what matters to them. Here’s a video blog where I share an example from purplefeather about switching your wording to gain a reaction from your audience.

Can you change the way you word something to make it more impactful to your audience? Have you done something like this before and seen results? Please share your stories!

What does that mean to you? You’ll get applicable bits of TED to learn from – we’ll be sharing highlights from the four days of jaw-dropping, eye-popping, tear-welling, mind-blowing, gut-busting, breath-catching, heart-moving talks for many posts to come. Here’s the first:

Bryan Stevenson: The Change Agent (Click here for Bryan’s entire TED Talk)

Bryan Stevenson, a human rights lawyer, built an incredible rapport with the audience almost immediately and was able to challenge them to change. Here’s how he did it:

Personal connection: He gained trust right off the bat by telling a personal story of his grandmother. That vulnerability goes a long way – remember that people are buying off on you, personally, not just your content. And by gaining our trust, we’re more likely to take action on the change he’s asking us to make.

Passion: He was polished, but more importantly, he didn’t let that polish gloss over his passion. He showed it in his actions and spoke about it in words like, “Each of us is more than the worse thing we’ve ever done. If somebody tells a lie, they’re not just a liar. If someone takes something that does not belong to them, they’re not just a thief.”

Point Of View: He clearly stated a bold Point Of View directly to the TED audience calling them to be brave and find ways to embrace challenges and suffering. He moved us toward action, rather than just giving an informative talk on injustice. Watch the video clip below to see how he did it.

So, what can you do?

1. When you’re next speaking, think of a story and anchor it to your main point. A story that shines light on who you are will not only build a connection with your audience, but it will also be memorable. Your message needs to last longer than the length of your meeting.
2. Of course you need to come across confident, credible, and polished to your audience. But like Bryan, don’t let that take away from your passion. Prepare beforehand, but let some of that extemporaneous real personality shine through, too. Your authentic passion is what inspires an audience.
3. Ask yourself when you’re crafting your next message, “What is the biggest change my audience needs to make? What’s the one thing I want them to walk out of the room with?” Give them direction from the start, and then make your case with all your facts and figures.

When you watch Bryan’s whole talk, please share. What else did you learn? Have any other talks inspired you recently? We highly recommend you take a little time and watch some (they’re 20-ish minutes each, and well worth the time - here’s the link for TED.com).

Throwing anything away is painfully confusing in San Francisco. So much so that many people (tourists especially) will stand paralyzed with their lunch refuse in front of an intimidating wall of bins. The trash, compost, and multiple recycling bins appear so ominous that each will come to life and attack you if you dare put the wrong item into it. The rules, in fact, are so specific, that you have to deconstruct all serving containers to get them into the right spot.

In a hurry, I didn’t see the typical bin lineup as I walked out of the Galleria food court. I did, however, spot a gleaming trash can right on my way out the main doors (yes, I know better and understand that my lack of time management here is not an excuse). I started toward it, ready to sacrilegiously chuck my compostable plate, recyclable soda can, and my legitimate trash straight into it.

Then I saw this…

Ouch. Not just trash, but landfill. Me, contributing to landfill. I saw myself personally delivering my garbage to the horrible, smelly, massive landfill. Overcome with guilt, I promptly turned on my heel and went out of my way to scale two flights of stairs and spend three minutes deconstructing my lunch containers.

How do you get people to change? You get them to care about your message and prioritize it. If you’ve got limited time to speak or limited space to write, focus on the following to drive action:

See. Feel. Change. Make your audience to see something (ex: Landfill Trashcan), feel something (..Guilt), and then they’ll more inclined to change the way they think or act.

Think – Is there any kind of visual you can show your audience to garner a reaction? Maybe it’s a thick stack of papers and you’re trying to streamline a form-filling-out process. Do you have a story that you could pair with a compelling photograph? Start looking because visuals are powerful tools. Please share any experience you’ve had with getting people to change!